Sen. Rick Scott Fights for Florida Farmers Facing Foreign Crop Dumping

WASHINGTON, D.C - Today, U.S Senator Rick Scott called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate suspected illegal dumping of Mexican strawberries into U.S. markets during peak winter harvest and sale season.

Florida produces 15 percent of America's strawberries, and the industry has a $1.1 billion impact on Hillsborough County alone. Crop dumping distorts the market and pushes prices down - cheating American farmers and their families out of their livelihood.

SCOOP: Smuggled Strawberries: Sen. Rick Scott Demands Probe Into Mexican Imports Squeezing Florida Farms

Senator Rick Scott wrote, "The facts of this case are clear. During the most recent winter season, more than 200 million kilograms of fresh strawberries from Mexico, valued at nearly $1 billion, flooded the U.S. market, much of it priced at a fraction of the cost of production.[1] These dumped imports arrive precisely during the November-through-March window when Florida's growers harvest their crop, undercutting our farmers at the only time of year they can sell."

BACKGROUND:

On December 31, 2025, the Strawberry Growers for Fair Trade (SGFT), a coalition of domestic growers, filed a petition with the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that fresh winter strawberries from Mexico are being sold in the United States at less than fair value.

The scope of the investigation covers fresh and chilled strawberries imported between November 1 and March 31, the same window in which Florida growers harvest and sell their crops. During the November 2024 to March 2025 season, imports of Mexican strawberries exceeded 200 million kilograms, valued at $933 million.

Read the full letter HERE or below:

Dear Secretary Lutnick:

I write in strong support of Florida's strawberry growers in the ongoing antidumping investigation regarding Fresh Winter Strawberries from Mexico (A-201-869).[2] For decades, Mexico has used heavy subsidies and unfairly priced exports in a deliberate scheme to displace American growers of seasonal and perishable produce from our own domestic market.[3] Florida's strawberry growers are the latest target of this scheme, and they deserve the full protection of U.S. trade law.

The facts of this case are clear. During the most recent winter season, more than 200 million kilograms of fresh strawberries from Mexico, valued at nearly $1 billion, flooded the U.S. market, much of it priced at a fraction of the cost of production.[4] These dumped imports arrive precisely during the November-through-March window when Florida's growers harvest their crop, undercutting our farmers at the only time of year they can sell. This is not competition - it is a targeted effort to drive American family farms out of business, and it follows the same playbook Mexico has used against Florida's tomato, blueberry, bell pepper, and many other specialty crop growers for nearly 30 years.

I have seen the toll of these unfair trade practices firsthand. I have visited Plant City, the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, many times as both Governor and Senator, and I have sat down with the family farmers who grow nearly all of America's domestic winter strawberries. Many of these are multigenerational operations - parents and grandparents who built their farms from a few acres and hope to pass them on to their children. After fighting through Hurricanes Helene and Milton[5] and this most recent winter freeze[6], these families now face a flood of dumped Mexican strawberries that threatens to take everything they have rebuilt. When a family farm in Plant City shuts down, it doesn't come back, and the jobs, the rural communities and the food security that depend on it disappear with it.

Mexico's dumping of seasonal and perishable agricultural products directly injures U.S. growers, and I encourage Commerce to calculate the maximum dumping rate consistent with U.S. law as it completes its investigation. I also urge Commerce to issue its preliminary determination without delay. It is my understanding that certain companies opposed to relief for U.S. growers have made repeated requests for extensions of time in this proceeding. These extensions prejudice the domestic industry and - as the time remaining for Commerce to conduct its investigation shrinks - impede Commerce's ability to properly analyze the data in a timely manner. I support Commerce in rejecting future requests for extensions from those entities seeking to deny relief to American growers and their workers. Florida's farmers cannot afford another lost season while foreign producers and importers run out the clock.

Food security is national security, and we cannot allow our nation's ability to feed itself to depend on the trade practices of a foreign government. I encourage you to give full and fair consideration to the facts presented by the Strawberry Growers for Fair Trade and to provide the fullest relief against unfairly priced imports consistent with U.S. law. I will never stop fighting for Florida's farmers, and I stand ready to work with you to ensure they get the level playing field they deserve.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.